Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe below to never miss a qubit. 👇️

FROM THE EDITOR.

Hello quantum scientists, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts.

We’re wrapping up another week in quantum — and what a week it’s been.

The market showed its appreciation for D-Wave’s announcement that the Advantage2, its latest quantum computer, is now generally available to customers. Investors found this point on-message, likely, for a few reasons. First, it’s making quantum more accessible, not just a laboratory gadget or big research gimmick. This is a critical point because that perception is that these devices are too complex — and might always be too complex — for general use.

The second point is related to this. The general availability of the Advantage2 will likely underscore the notion that not only can be used by non-Big Science teams, but that they can begin to explore commercial uses for quantum computing in their own fields an industries.

We offer a deeper perspective on the launch below.

Another sign of a potential conversion of the doubtful: NVIDIA is allegedly interested in investing in PsiQuantum. Now, this is all still unconfirmed, but, if true it represents a major turnaround from earlier this winter when NVIDIA still considered a far-off technology. If there is a NVIDIA investment in a leading QC company that — to me, at least — could be described as a money talks and something-something walks situation.

To my fellow Americans: Have a great Memorial Day weekend and know that my wife will no longer judge you if you wear white for the next 90 days or so!

Unless they are cargo shorts. Of any color. Don’t ask me how I know.

Have a great weekend!

— Matt, Chief Content Officer at The Quantum Insider

INSIDER BRIEF.

• Quantum Machines Launches Open-Source Framework

• IQM Quantum to Install 300-Qubit QC

• IonQ and Einride Partner to Bring Quantum-Enhanced Logistics

• QSENSATO Announces Pre-Seed Round

• Microsoft Touts New PQC Rollout

• Quantum Algorithm Shows Advantage

• China Telecom Calling For Quantum

• Quantum Light Closes Pre-Seed Round

• Arqit Reports Losses, Sees Turnaround

ANALYST NOTES.

The Noteworthy & Nuanced

This week is all about quantum becoming more real and accessible. Both Microsoft and NordVPN have made big steps in adopting post-quantum cryptography. Microsoft released early-access PQC tools for Windows and Linux, supporting NIST-endorsed ML-KEM and ML-DSA algorithms to help organizations prepare for quantum-era threats. NordVPN, on the other hand, expanded its post-quantum encryption across all VPN apps, integrating quantum-resistant protocols into its NordLynx infrastructure.

D-Wave has officially launched its sixth-generation Advantage2 quantum computer, now available via cloud and on-premises access. Designed for large-scale industrial optimization and AI applications, Advantage2 enhances qubit connectivity, coherence, and energy efficiency. Early adopters, including Japan Tobacco and Los Alamos National Laboratory, have used prototypes to tackle challenges in drug discovery, materials science, and national security.

And NVIDIA, which started the year with some shaky statements about the quantum industry, is reportedly close to investing in PsiQuantum as part of a $750M funding round led by BlackRock. This would potentially value the photonic quantum computing startup at $6B. This would mark NVIDIA’s first direct investment in quantum hardware, aligning with its broader quantum strategy encompassing hybrid systems, simulation software, and collaborative research. — Alan Kanapin, Analyst at The Quantum Insider

The Research Rundown

This week, three use cases stood out for actively exploring applications to real-world problems at meaningful scales. Q-CTRL’s recent work with Network Rail was reportedly one of the largest combinatorial optimization problems ever executed on real quantum hardware. Rail scheduling, a problem defined by cascading constraints and tight physical limitations, demonstrated quantum’s relevance to infrastructure challenges that don’t wait for fault tolerance. Perhaps most importantly, the system delivered actionable results to domain experts without requiring them to know how quantum circuits work.

IonQ’s partnership with Einride, continues a trend in transportation logistics with freight logistics being the next transportation domain where quantum might provide the most useful influence. Akin to passenger rail, fleet optimization suffers from nonlinear constraints and a brittle supply-demand balance. But it also introduces dynamics like electric charge cycles and autonomous routing, variables that stretch classical solvers thin.

Now for the fun part. Moth Quantum’s research on procedural content generation using quantum reservoir computing wasn’t about industrial optimization or critical infrastructure, but it does bring joy. Quantum’s ability to work with small datasets and maintain temporal structure leads to generative outcomes that classical models either overfit or distort. And with 3.3 billion gamers worldwide, this isn’t a niche market, but quite possibly the world’s largest interactive platform. — Cierra Choucair, Journalist & Analyst at The Quantum Insider

Want more research insights? Get them delivered straight to your inbox Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with The Daily Qubit. Subscribe below or use the link to update preferences at the end of this email. 👇️

INSIDER SPOTLIGHT: D-Wave Announces General Advailability of Advantage2 Quantum Computer

➡️ D-Wave has launched its sixth-generation quantum computer, Advantage2, into general availability, offering customers access via both cloud (Leap) and on-premise deployments. The system builds on the company’s specialization in quantum annealing — a form of quantum computing designed for solving complex optimization problems at industrial scale.

➡️ Advantage2 introduces key hardware improvements including enhanced qubit connectivity, higher energy levels, improved coherence, and a new “fast anneal” feature.

➡️ Early commercial and research customers include Davidson Technologies and the Jülich Supercomputing Centre, where Advantage2 will integrate with exascale-class systems for national security and AI research.

➡️ D-Wave reports that over 20 million problems have already been run on the Advantage2 prototype, with usage up 134% in the last six months. These trends signal growing demand for quantum annealing solutions in applied sectors such as logistics, machine learning, and drug discovery — areas where classical methods face computational bottlenecks.

Analyst Commentary

D-Wave’s general release of its Advantage2 quantum computer was met with considerable fanfare this week — and considerable is an understatement, if we count investment enthusiasm.

But, perhaps ironically, the announcement was decidedly not a moonshot-type of announcement. The significance of this launch lies not in splashy claims or quantum supremacy headlines, but in the quiet progress of making quantum computing usable, repeatable and energy efficient for real customers solving real problems. D-Wave is betting that its annealing-based approach can prove value now — particularly for optimization tasks that strain classical systems.

The company’s pitch is simple: scale doesn’t have to wait. Advantage2 reportedly doubles coherence, improves noise resistance, and maintains a 12.5 kW power footprint — all while expanding to support up to two million problem variables via its hybrid solvers. That makes it relevant to industries where resource allocation, scheduling, or logistics drive cost and performance.

What’s worth watching is not just the hardware, but the structure of the deployment strategy. Cloud access through D-Wave’s Leap platform allows for low-friction experimentation, while on-premise installations at sites like Davidson Technologies and Jülich Supercomputing Centre, mentioned in the company’s announcement, suggest growing demand for local control and tighter integration with existing infrastructure — including exascale-class classical systems.

Those watching the quantum space should pay attention to not just the names of early users, but the variety of these organizations. Japan Tobacco explored Quantum-AI integration for drug discovery; Los Alamos ran simulations in magnetism and condensed matter physics; Davidson is aligning quantum applications with national security priorities. These aren’t pilot demos—they’re domain-specific use cases where organizations believe annealing can contribute near-term value.

Of course, most experts — and critics — do not consider annealing a universal solution. It doesn’t perform general-purpose quantum operations or error correction the way gate-based systems aspire to. But that’s not the point here. The value proposition is specialization: take one class of problem, optimize it better, cheaper, or faster — and let that use case prove itself.

In a field still shadowed by skepticism and haunted by accusations of hype, D-Wave’s move represents a kind of commercial realism. It’s a bet that customers don’t need to wait for a quantum utopia to start putting quantum tools to work. And for the broader industry, it’s a reminder that accessibility, energy efficiency, and integration matter just as much as theoretical capability.

The test going forward will be whether these customers — from defense to pharma — come back not just for performance, but for outcomes. The Advantage2 system may not change the rules of quantum computing overnight. But it could help normalize the idea that quantum can — and should — solve something useful.

DATA SPOTLIGHT.

Quantinuum has achieved a major milestone in quantum computing, becoming the first commercial system to reach a 2-qubit gate fidelity of 99.914(3)%, surpassing the “three nines” threshold of 99.9% fidelity. Additionally, its Quantum Volume—a key performance benchmark—has reached 1,048,576 (2²⁰), setting a new high in the industry and significantly outpacing competitors. These advances place Quantinuum at the forefront of scalable, high-fidelity quantum computing technology. Will the company also be the first to breach the “four nines” (99.99%)? That remains to be seen.

INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS.

🇺🇸 The Business Software Alliance is urging Congress to reauthorize and expand the National Quantum Initiative Act, warning that the U.S. risks falling behind global competitors who are moving from research to quantum deployment.

🇹🇼 Taiwan’s NCHC is launching an AI supercomputer powered by NVIDIA hardware to accelerate quantum computing, climate science, and sovereign AI initiatives. The system supports hybrid quantum-classical workflows using CUDA-Q and cuQuantum.

🇨🇳 China Telecom Quantum Group has launched a hybrid cryptography system combining QKD and PQC to secure communications against quantum attacks. The system enabled a 1,000-kilometer quantum-encrypted phone call and is being deployed across 16 cities.

🇶🇦 Hamad Bin Khalifa University has launched Qatar’s first quantum computing lab under the Qatar Center for Quantum Computing, supported by a $10 million grant from the Ministry of Defence.

🇫🇮 IQM Quantum Computers will deliver a 300-qubit superconducting quantum computer to VTT, making it Finland’s largest investment yet in quantum infrastructure. The project includes a 150-qubit system by 2026 and a full 300-qubit machine by 2027, with integration into Finland’s HPC infrastructure.

🖥️ D-Wave has launched its Advantage2 quantum computer, now available via cloud and on-premises deployment for industrial-scale optimization and AI tasks.

💿️ Quantum Machines has launched QUAlibrate, an open-source framework that reduces quantum computer calibration times and turns calibration into a modular, shareable process.

🌍️ France, Germany, and the Netherlands have jointly awarded over €30 million to cross-border quantum projects focused on computing, communication, and sensing, with €11 million allocated to French partners via France 2030.

🖥️ NVIDIA and Japan’s AIST have launched G-QuAT, a research center hosting ABCI-Q, the world’s largest quantum-focused supercomputer, powered by 2,020 NVIDIA H100 GPUs.

💸 NVIDIA is reportedly in advanced talks to invest in PsiQuantum as part of a $750 million round led by BlackRock, marking its first direct move into quantum hardware and potentially valuing PsiQuantum at nearly $6 billion.

🤝 Quantum Circuits Inc. has partnered with NVIDIA, Supermicro, Yale Quantum Institute, and QuantumCT to deploy NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips at its New Haven headquarters, enabling accelerated development of hybrid quantum-classical applications.

💰️ QSENSATO, a spin-off from the University of Bari, has raised €500,000 in pre-seed funding from LIFTT and Quantum Italia to develop chip-scale quantum sensors for ultra-precise electric and magnetic field detection.

💡 Quantum Light, an Oxford-affiliated startup developing quantum pigment nanomaterials, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding from investors including Venrex, the Oxford Seed Fund, and senior executives from Google and Meta.

🇨🇦 PINQ² and Distriq have formed a strategic partnership to accelerate the adoption of quantum technologies across Quebec and Canada by uniting their infrastructure, expertise, and networks.

EVENTS.

May 26 -- Grand Opening: QAI Ventures Accelerator Batch III Switzerland. Join us at uptownBasel to celebrate the launch of our third startup cohort and kick off the QAI Ventures Accelerator in true QAI style: Come for the vision. Stay for the rooftop vibes.

June 1-5 -- Optica Quantum 2.0 Conference and Exhibition will be held at Hilton San Francisco Union Square, San Francisco.

June 3-6 -- The International Conference on Quantum Energy (ICQE 2025) will be hosted by the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Padua. The program features interdisciplinary research on both quantum-for-energy and energy-for-quantum, covering topics such as quantum thermodynamics, light harvesting, energy storage, and simulation.

June 9-12 -- Adiabatic Quantum Computing (AQC) 2025 Conference will be held at the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada from June 9-12, 2025. The AQC conference series, now in its 14th year, is an annual international gathering of researchers working on diverse aspects of quantum computing.

June 18-19 -- Quantum Now|ICI Quantique will be held in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Where strategic leaders secure their quantum future!

Aug. 31– Sept. 5 -- IEEE Quantum Week 2025 will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Sept. 16-18 -- Quantum World Congress 2025 will be held at Capital One Hall in Greater Washington. The event is a chance for the world’s quantum ecosystem comes together to bring a quantum-ready future into focus.

Sept. 24-25 -- Q2B25 Paris will be held at Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris, France.

Sept. 29-Oct. 1 -- Quantum.Tech Europe is taking place in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The event will bring together the whole quantum supply chain to drive forward the commercial applications of Quantum Technologies.

Oct. 8 -- The Fifth Anniversary of The City Quantum & AI Summit at the Mansion House in the City of London takes place this year with the subtitle Race for Growth.

Nov. 10-12 -- European Quantum Technologies Conference 2025 will be held at Øksnehallen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Dec. 1-4 -- QUEST-IS 2025 Quantum Engineering Sciences and Technologies for Industry and Services From Quantum Engineering to Applications for Citizens. EDF Lab, Paris-Saclay, FranceParis-Saclay, France